OSCILLITHIC
2023
Oscillithic is a cross-disciplinary research collaboration between artists Rachel Doolin and Anne Marie Deacy, in conjunction with the Artist Laboratory Project, a partnership between Solstice Arts Centre and Devenish Lands at Dowth.
Devenish Lands at Dowth is a former internationally recognised research farm situated within the Brú na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2018, excavation work at Dowth Hall unearthed the remains of a Neolithic passage tomb. This discovery is considered to be one of the most significant finds in Ireland’s archaeological heritage.
The Sí in modern Irish refers to both the megalithic mounds and the spirits believed to be connected to ancient burial sites. White quartz stones, known as Clocha Geala or ‘Shining Stones,’ have featured prominently at many of these ancient sites where megalithic structures—built with great care and precision—are thought to have been used in religious ceremonies and astronomical observations, with quartz being a prominent feature in their construction. This alludes to the hypothesis that quartz, and its association with cosmic revelation, played a significant role in the ritualistic practices and worldview of our ancestors.
In contemporary material culture, quartz has played an essential role in the revolution of technology, with one of the most common uses of quartz being in the production of crystal oscillators. These components utilise the unique piezoelectric properties of quartz to generate a stable and accurate frequency, making them an essential component in electronic devices such as radios, transmitters, clocks, computers, and mobile phones. In addition, quartz is used in the manufacture of optical fibres, the high purity and clarity of the mineral allowing for the reliable transmission of digital data at fast speeds.
Beneath Dowth Hall, white quartz pebbles sit embedded in the dirt. These hidden oscillators, only recently unearthed after thousands of years, are a web of vibrating matter, glistening beacons to the past and the intentions of a people unknown. Guided in this space by these luminous objects, sounds were meticulously recorded while onsite through a multitude of microphones, acoustic devices, techniques, and field recorders. Exploring both over and underground, they recorded through stones and structures, along with documenting the frequencies propagating the air. Through this immersive experience, the more-than-human world was magnified, evoking another time, as the land revealed itself as a natural amphitheatre.
Oscillithic is a neologism coined by the artists, employed to excavate—through both conventional and alternate means—the vibrational energies of lithic remnants, in an attempt to mine meaning and insight from the hidden vernacular of the site. The project is concerned with the materiality of place, drawing on the notion of quartz as both a technological artefact and a potent elemental archetype, offering a tangible connection to ancestral heritage. By employing quartz as a beacon or resonating navigator, the artists attempt to ‘tune in’, to divine a gateway into new findings. This research journey is imbued with poetic provocation, inviting a mindful exploration of past rituals; contemplating the deep connection between humanity, the natural world, and the divine, while interrogating the intersection where science meets myth and art in a contemporary context.
Antler | Antenna | Attunement
A wild red deer antler, found on-site, is repurposed as an antenna. The small field recorder used to map the space plays back sketches from Dowth through a simple form of shortwave transmission. A small breadboard set, embedded like the quartz found on-site at Dowth, houses a crystal oscillator that, when powered, pulses at approximately 1.54 million times per second. This signal is sent to the antler antenna to propagate through the air. The signal is then picked up by the antenna of a small handheld AM radio and broadcast. This work acknowledges the continued power of quartz in technology, particularly in telecommunications.
Photo credit: Lee Welch
Site | Sound | Stone
Site | Stone | Sound is a sound sculpture and art document with photographic image printed on wall vinyl. The long and narrow research table is a nod to the passage, a homage to the burial site unearthed at Dowth Hall, where the hidden vernacular is explored through the materiality of white quartz.
Materials Birch ply, ash wood, found quarried quartz tailings, archival prints on Hahnemühle fine art hemp paper, wall vinyl, multi-channel sound composition; onsite field recordings, neolithic quartz remnants, quartz sound bowls.
Photo credit: Lee Welch
This project has been supported by
